Waterproof sanitary garments



Sep-. 6, 1960 FIG. 1.

V. M. F. GORDON WATERPROOF SANITARY GARMENTS Filed 00T.. 4, 1957 United States Patent O WATERPROOF SANITARY GARMENTS Valerie M. F. Gordon, Kirkhill, Inverness, Scotland, as-

signor to V.`G. (Inverness) Limited, Kirkhll, Inverness, Scotland, a British company Filed oct. 4, 1957, ser. No. 688,240

Claims priority, application Great Britain Nov. 23, 1956 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S-284) This invention relates to sanitary garments and its main object is to provide a garment which will be comfortable and effective in use, prevents outer clothing being soiled and can be used for holding in position inexpensive ab sorbent pads that do not need loops, and is especially constructed so as not to cut into the legs over the inductor longus.

The object of the present invention is to provide a garment comprising a base of sheet material shaped to extend from front to rear between the legs, in which greater comfort is achieved by providing the upper front edge of the base with a depression between its corners, said edge being connected along its length to a horizontal strip whereby the depression is substantially straightened causing looseness in the edges of the sides of the base at the front.

A supporting band may be connected to the rear upper end of the base and may be integral with said horizontal strip or detachably or permanently xed to it; said horizontal strip may be rigid or ilexible or elastic.

The base may consist of a single or double sheet of waterproof or other sheet material or may consist of two or more strips connected together by heat sealing or stitching. g

The sheet material base may be widest at its rear lower part and may include a portion made of foraminous material between the widest part and the top rear edge. The foraminous material may be any material that is comfortable, e.g. non-absorbent mesh material such as polyamide plastic mesh or perforated polyvinyl chloride sheet.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the -accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of a garment made in accordance with the invention in the position when not in use;

and

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the belt under tension as it will be when in use.

The garment has a base comprising a main part 10, having marginal parts 11, 12, and a rear part 13 of foraminous material. 'Ihe main part extends from front to rear between the legs. The foraminous part 13 is approximately triangular with its base across the garment at or near the widest portion 15 of the garment and its apex 16 is connected to the rear of a belt 17 constituting a supporting means, adapted to engage around the pelvis some distance below the waist. From the widest part to the front upper coners 18, 19 the base has continuously curved edges 20, 21 passing through the narrowest part of that region of rthe base which lies between the Widest part 15 and the upper front edge 26, this narrowest part being between the legs.

Patented Sept. 6, 1960 ICC Side straps 23, 24 are attached at their lower ends to Ithe base at the widest part 15 so that they are positioned below the buttocks and are fastened in a position each on its respective side on the front two thirds of the belt. The side straps 23, 24 serve to hold the widest part 15 tensioned laterally.

The upper front edge 26 of the base has a depression between the corners 18, 19 of continuous curvature. This edge is sewn to a straight piece of elastic webbing which in this example is the integral front part of the belt 17. When the latter is stretched in use as shown in IFigure 2, the edge 26 is pulled approximately straight in front view whereby the marginal parts 11, 12 are bowed outwardly so as to ensure that they pass between the legs without cutting over the inductor longus.

The base is preferably 10 to 151/2 inches overall length from 16 to 26 (excluding the belt which may be one half to two and a half inches deep). The width of the base at the narrowest part may be two and three quarters to four and one half inches. The width of the base at the widest part may be five to eight inches whence it tapers in both directions leaving a corner on each side to which are attached the means 23, 24 which holds the corners apart. The rear upper end 16 may be four and a half to seven and a half inches from the widest part 15 measured on the centre line, the front upper edge being seven and a half to eleven inches from the widest part measured on the centre line.

I claim:

1. A sanitary garment comprising a base of sheet material shaped to extend from front to rear between the legs, said base having a part of greatest width in such position that this part will be located behind the legs when in use, the upper front edge of the base having a depression between its corners, a belt adapted to engage around the wearer, said belt including a horizontal front portion attached to the base -along said depression and adapted to straighten said upper front edge when .in use causing forward bowing in the edges of the sides of the base at the front, and means connected Ito the belt and to said widest part of the base for holding said widest part taut transversely.

2. A garment as claimed in claim l wherein the width of the base at the widest part at the rear is tive to eight inches whence it tapers in both directions leaving a corner on each side which will be behind the legs, to which are attached said means for holding the widest part taut, and the upper front edge of said base is greater than two and three quarter inches wide.

3. A garment as claimed in claim 1 in which the front upper edge is between seven and a half inches to eleven inches from the widest part at the rear measured on the centre line.

4. A garment as claimed in claim l, in which the narrowest part of that region which is between the legs is two and three quarters to four and a half inches.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 420,978 Teufel c Feb. 11, 1890 532,727 Doldt Jan. 15, 1895 682,270 Hirshberg Sept. 11, 1901 2,011,027 Ballard Aug. 13, 1935 2,622,600 De Guyot et al. Dec. 23, 1952 2,843,126 Schmidt July 15, 1958 

